Catcher Ansley Blevins has built a legacy at MTSU, emphasized through consistent growth, offensive firepower and a lengthy list of honors throughout her high school and college career. Known for her attitude on and off the field, Blevin’s hasn’t only improved and met the demands of being a student athlete but is on track to graduate with a degree in sonography in 2026.
“She’s come a long way as a person,” assistant head coach Gretchen Mead said. “She’s matured, not only as an athlete, but as a person. She has done a great job of getting to know her pitchers on a more personal level and creating a better atmosphere for them to be successful, which is huge as a catcher.”
Growing up in a sports-oriented family, Blevins’s mother, father and brother played sports. Additionally, her grandfather played minor and major league baseball.
“Softball has always been my first love,” Blevins said. “The thing that inspired me to play softball was just a pure love I had for the game. Softball is a game of failure. And I loved winning more than I hated losing.”
The Chattanooga, Tennessee, native previously attended Girls Preparatory School from 2018 through 2022, where she was a five-year letterwinner in softball. Blevins highlighted her high school career by earning several awards, including being named All-Region during her freshman and junior year, named to the Division II-AA All-State team, recognized as a Beautiful Beast of Softball and recognized with the Mary Alice Chambers Award and the Laura Holt Outstanding Athlete Award.
During her time at the institution, Blevins helped lead the Bruisers to three state runner-up finishes in 2018, 2019 and 2021, ending her high school career with a .419 batting average and 49 home runs.
Blevins began her college career at MTSU in 2022, getting off to a strong start, starting in 61 games, and was named to the All-Conference USA Freshman team, Conference USA All-Tournament Team and NCAA All-Regional Team.
Blevins filled the stat sheet early, as she batted .237 with six home runs (second on the team), eight doubles and 26 RBI’s (third most on the team). On the defensive end, she led the team with 288 putouts.
To wrap up her freshman year, MTSU softball secured its second CUSA title in program history.
The following year, Blevins played in all 52 games and was named to the First Team All-Conference USA and CUSA Commissioner’s Honor Roll. During the stretch, she led CUSA with 10 home runs in league play, batted 14 home runs (second most in a single-season game in program history) and recorded three multi-home run games for the most in program history.
Blevins upped her batting percentage to .299 with 40 hits, 28 RBI’s and recorded a career-high five RBIs against FIU on March 30.
The most impressive year for Blevins was her junior campaign, which saw her once again named CUSA First-Team All-Conference, CUSA Commissioner’s honor roll and the CUSA player of the week on March 3.
In 50 games, Blevins ranked fifth in CUSA with 14 home runs (ranked 79th nationally), finished third in both home runs (10) and RBI (28) during conference play and was ranked fourth in the league with a slugging percentage of .753.
Some of Blevins’ most notable career highlights occurred during her junior season, including a walk-off home run against Illinois State University to complete a comeback win on Feb. 28, 2024, a 3-for-3 game with two home runs and four RBIs against Sam Houston State University on March 16, 2024 and a two-run home run to upset No. 24 Liberty on April 4, 2024.
“Ansley is an incredible leader who makes sure everyone is feeling the best possible,” infielder Lucie McDonald said. “She is extremely competitive, which motivates me and all the other girls to want the win as much as she does.”
Now, in her final year as a Blue Raider, Blevins is hitting .260 with four home runs.
“It’s been super emotional. For the last 16 years of my life, I’ve woke up and thought about ‘what am I going to do today to get better?” Blevins said. “Softball has been a constant in my life and something that I’ve leaned on at all times. The honest answer is that I’m scared for it to be over. … I just hope when it’s all said and done, that I’ve been the best teammate I can be and have made a long-lasting impact on those around me.”
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